Inspiration for New Pet Products Often Come from Pet Owners

If you’ve got a furry friend, he’s no doubt a part of your family. The best ideas for a new product come from people like you that are inspired to improve your life, the lives of others and that includes your pets. Think about how you can take better care of your pet by inventing a better mouse trap to what may already exist or to invent a completely new device to hel feed, bath, walk or care for your pet’s well-being. You may have already been inspired by an idea but thought, “That’s impossible to create”. With the help of a product development company, your new pet product ideas can come to life. Not sure how to arrange your thoughts? The following are some ideas to get you started on the right track.

Go On a Walk to Get Inspired

Take your pet on a walk and pay attention to everything your pal does. Does he want to stop at every puddle for a drink? From that simple act, you may be inspired to consider ways your pooch can get a cleaner source of water. Does your pet get anxious from loud noises or other barking animals you encounter? Perhaps some noise cancelling device would be a clever invention you could devise with the help of a new product engineer and some funding.

Playing With Your Pet Can Inspire You

Play with your dog, cat or other animal to see what really gets them excited. If you have a dog that likes to play fetch with a stick, you might consider a new style of launcher for a person that that lacks the strength to throw a stick or ball very far. The best ideas are those that can benefit a large group of pet owners, so we encourage you to consider the marketability of a product. Not every bright idea will be appealing to other pet owners. Cats for example get a thrill from chasing strings. My guess is that inventing a robotic string puller when you’re too tired to play may be a costly investment for the development stages, but the vast majority of cat owners may not find that idea too exciting and invest $20+ to buy one for their cat.

Pet Product Manufacturers are Cleaning Up

The American Pet Products Association estimates that pet owners will spend over $72 billion on products for their pets this year and that number continues to grow every year. Most of that is on pet food and the AAFCO regulates grocery products. But what about devices to help in the feeding and even evacuation of waste products? There has got to be a better way to handle cat litter…or do away with cat litter all together…right? Do you know how many pooper scoopers were sold in the US last year? Does Brooke Miller get a piece of all that action? Pet Life Today lists the top 50 Pet Clean up devices on the market in this article. If Ms. Miller had the right product development company helping her with trademarks, physical design engineering help and manufacturing, chances are she is sitting pretty on a pile of cash for her invention.

The Importance of Having Professionals on Your Side

I didn’t find any company headed up by Brooke Miller for this article, so I am assuming she did not clean up on her pet poop invention. Don’t let that happen to your idea for a new pet product. Not all new product development companies are considered equal and it is important you are guided down the right path by professionals that not only offer you the engineering design services you seek but can help you with the legal aspects of registering trademarks, conducting the market research required and believe in your product design ideas as much as you do. We offer product engineering help to inventors as well as the ins and outs of getting your product manufactured cost effectively. We can guide you on the right people to speak with concerning trademarks and sign a non-disclosure agreement, so your ideas are safe until your product ideas are protected.

The Features and Benefits of Fitness Tracking Technology

Fitness tracking devices have become popular health and wellness products. A wearable device designer should be aware of the types of data that can be collected and how sensors and other components work together to obtain, condition, digitize and transmit information. Learn more about how fitness trackers work and consider how your wearable device idea can benefit from sensor technology.

Fitness Tracking Data

Fitness trackers are capable of gathering a wide range of data. Product designers can consider whether a device they may be designing should be able to detect the following types of data:

• Altitude: air pressure and impact on performance

• Bioimpedance: resistance for measuring body mass, hydration and respiration

• ECG/EKG: electrical signals generated by heart muscles

• Heart rate: heartbeat when active or resting

• Motion: movement in all directions, steps or sleep quality

• Temperature: measures heat

Most leading wearables include altitude, heart rate and motion sensors. Bioimpedence, ECG/EKG and temperature sensors are somewhat less common. Designers should consider the intended uses and market for a device when determining which sensors to include. Our IoT design services can offer guidance during the product development process.

Wearable Sensors

Fitness tracking devices contain a variety of sensors. A wearable device designer may want to include some of the following components:

• Accelerometer: 3-axis sensor tracks motion in all directions and counts steps

• Ambient light sensor: reduces signal interference for optical sensors, adjusts screen brightness

• Barometer: measures air pressure to determine altitude

• Bioimpedance: tests resistance for measuring body mass, hydration, respiration

• Biopotential: ECG/EKG electrical signals, R-R interval

• Gyroscope: determines motion, rotation or physical orientation

• Heart rate monitor: optical sensor that detects movement of blood in surrounding capillaries

• Temperature: built-in component or patch that measures heat

Sensors connect to signal conditioning circuits and output is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter. Some product development companies get around the need for original design from the ground up by relying on integrated systems that combine basic sensors with signal processing, digitization and transmission components.

Tracking Benefits

There are many benefits to collecting data through sensors when combined with a well-designed wearable device and user interface. Most users appreciate step counts and exercise modes made possible with an accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope and heart rate monitor. Once raw readings have been conditioned and analyzed, this information provides a useful index for activity levels and overall health measurement. A wearable device designerwill need to develop suitable methods for obtaining and presenting this data. IoT design services can be helpful to product development companies striving to create functional and user-friendly fitness tracking technology.

The Secret to Innovative Product Design

If you want your company to be a leader in your industry, it’s essential to have a constant flow of creative ideas that lead to innovative products. Some companies may struggle to come up with new ideas that lead to successful products. There are some ways you can help promote creative thought in your staff and encourage the development of unique product designs. Check out these tips to help you get more from your staff in product development.

Focus on Solutions

One effective way you can generate more ideas for product design is to focus on solutions instead of the final product. Generally, all companies are in the business of providing solutions to various problems for their customers. It’s up to your product design staff members to develop items that solve problems in the form of products or services.

Follow Product Category Trends

Next, it’s important to have a strong understanding of your current industry’s product category trends. Pay attention to what your competitors are doing and perhaps develop more thoughtful solutions. Attend as many industry conferences as you can, and network with other leaders in your field to have a better understanding of the current trends and atmosphere in your line of business.

Try Small Improvements

Another way to generate new ideas is to look for improvements in your current product line. It’s not always necessary to create an entirely new design that is vastly different from your current inventory. Sometimes, the best innovations take what is already in existence and improve it. Use customer feedback and staff suggestions to make something you already have much better.

Study Examples of Product Design

Creativity can also be developed by looking at other innovative product design ideas for inspiration. If you and your team are having trouble brainstorming new product ideas, looking at some of the coolest design examples from the past that can provide you ideas about new ways of thinking. Studying these examples may help inspire your team to create something entirely new and unique.

Partner With Design Firms

In some cases, it may make the most sense to get some outside ideas from product design engineeringpartners. In this situation, you can outsource your product design ideas and get results for your toughest customer problems with a fresh perspective. Partnering with a firm that specializes in engineering design services in your industry to help you jumpstart your own new idea-gathering process as well. With a specialized product design firm, you can focus your creative energy on making decisions about designs instead of getting frustrated with the lack of ideas.

Encourage Creative Thinking

The final tip to help your company be more creative is to encourage more creative thinking. Take more time to brainstorm and encourage any suggestions about new products from your entire staff instead of just a select few. Do more product design team building exercises and non-traditional work to access new ideas from each team member’s creative side. Think outside of the box instead of doing the same thing you’ve always done to get a different result. Creativity is difficult to produce on demand, especially with new product design ideas. Chances are you probably have some staff members who are creative thinkers but just need a push. Your task is to find these diamonds in the rough. Our medical device design division spends 2 hours every Friday morning to brainstorm new ideas. This time is always scheduled, and all employees are welcome. This is generally the best two ours of the week.

Medical Device Design Benefits From Functional Decomposition

Modern medical devices designers have the difficult task of trying to take on the role of both engineer and medical expert at the same time, meaning a new product development company has to spend extensive resources and design time submitting and resubmitting models for review by the appropriate authorities.

An ideal way around these obstacles is by involving medical professionals into the design process from the earliest stages of conceptualization. How? By using functional decomposition to identify key processes, create clear goals for needed inventions and make sure solutions work on paper before blindly forging onto mechanical design and prototyping.

How To Apply Functional Decomposition to Medical Device Design

The premise of functional decomposition is simple: to break down key functions into their most essential sub functions in an easy-to-understand diagram. Engineers first state a device’s proposed purpose in simple terms. Then they conceptualizing each step required for the development process:

• General functions

• Sub functions

• Basic functions

• Object of actions

• Causes of actions

Can this method be applied to medical device design? Absolutely. Product development companies just need to assign new tags to familiar functions:

• Performed_On: The patient – or patient organ – becomes the recipient of an action.

• Performed_By: Doctors or components that cause an action.

• Has_Environment: Environmental considerations such as sterility are stated.

• input_flow: Indicates the need for mechanical energy in the procedure or device.

• output_flow: Refers to the action of removing unneeded material from the patient’s body during a procedure.

These brief tagging examples show how even complex medical procedures or required medical actions on the part of a device can be broken down in a functional decomposition diagram, before ever starting to design a physical model.

An Example of Functional Decomposition in Practice

Consider the gastric compression band. What is the overall function of this simple device? To reduce the size of the patient’s stomach. This requires creating a diagram of the object – the stomach – and the action of applying compression from the medical device – the band. A simple flow chart indicates the steps required, including the presence of a new physical device.

Advantages of Using Functional Decomposition for Medical Device Creation

Here’s why taking the time to convert medical knowledge into digital data is valuable for medical device designers in many situations:

• A searchable database reduces time needed to find effective subcomponents.

• Past designs can be easily extrapolated from and expanded upon.

• Larger teams offering engineering design services can work simultaneously.

• Time-to-production is reduced for many complex devices.

By creating detailed functional diagrams prior to embarking on the medical device design services they were contracted for, the new product development company would have to start from scratch every time. In a way, functional decomposition becomes a pathway to new medical procedures. By employing functional decomposition, perhaps other product development companies in Philadelphia can be a translator that helps doctors and engineers understand each other clearly when talking about patient needs.

Moving Your Concept Past The FDA Requires Documentation

There is always a market for innovative medical equipment that advances healthcare, no matter how small the application. Maybe you have an idea that would improve an already existing device or a diagnostic apparatus that would revolutionize the patient experience. If you’re ready to transform your idea into a tangible product, you are at the beginning of possibly a long and sometimes complicated process of acquiring regulatory approval. Documenting every step of the way in a design history file (DHF) is an essential part of creating a new product that will meet with regulatory requirements.

What Is a Design History File?

The DHF is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is a document that details every step of the development process and their guidelines are laid out in this FDA Code Title 21, section 820.30. The FDA requires this document to verify that you and your team’s methods fall in line with regulations for every component of the design control process, which includes the following:

• Design and development planning
• Design input
• Design output
• Design review
• Design verification
• Design validation
• Design transfer
• Design changes
• Design history file

This recording process should generate a veritable mountain of documentation that is compiled into the DHF. The final file should be gathered into one document, that should also include an index for the researcher to follow easily.

How Will It Enhance the Development Process?

As a medical device designer, we know how complex the development process can be for most inventors. A DHF will help you keep everything organized. Knowing that this thorough documentation is required will remind you to keep meticulous notes. These notes can help to overcome obstacles that arise future along in the process by allowing you to backtrack and make adjustments where needed. Also, as you prepare to submit your medical device to the FDA, you can use the DHF to double check your methods. While the FDA requires this file for their own work, it is equally useful on your end.

How Will It Help Meet FDA Requirements?

When the FDA reviews your device, a lead reviewer follows and acceptance checklist that is very comprehensive and includes a review of the digital history file. An agent will review your DHF to make sure your product design & development process was properly documented and every medical device designerinvolved complied with applicable regulations. One of the main reasons for developing history files is to ensure that product designers for healthcare devices follow a strict code of ethics and product safety is of paramount importance during the engineering design process.

How To Design With Digital in Mind

Today’s consumers have higher expectations of products’ capabilities than ever before. With the fast growth of smart technology, everyday appliances can now perform some pretty amazing tasks, making the ease and convenience once relegated to science fiction a reality available to millions.

With new features come new difficulties.Due to their increased complexity, connected devices must be designed differently than their low-tech predecessors. There are several factors that can influence the user experience that a connected device designer should keep in mind.

Does the Interface Match the User’s Abilities?

During product design and development, the primary focus should be on the intended use and the potential users. Is this meant to be operated by someone with specialized knowledge and previous experience with similar devices? Or is this meant to be utilized by anyone, with no or minimal training required?A new product design engineer familiar with a product’s purpose should first seek to understand the intended users’ technological literacy and plan accordingly.

Does the Design Take Mental Models Into Account?

When confronted with a new technology, people generally try to make sense of the novelty by relying on their history with items similar in form or function. For example, users unfamiliar with a touch screen may double tap a word to highlight it based on their experience double clicking with a mouse.

An IoT product designer can also increase ease of use by utilizing organizational methods that most people easily recognize. Familiar ways of arranging information include:

• Lists
• Menus
• Branching systems
• Charts and tables

Users are more likely to be comfortable using a product if they can easily navigate the system provided. Asking consumers to learn new methods of organizing information may be asking too much if they just want to do something as simple as checking today’s forecast.

Does the Design Overwhelm the User?

Just because a product can do a lot doesn’t mean your design needs to showcase it all at once. An interface needs to be clean and concise to help users get the most out of their experience in the simplest way possible. Thoughtful design can facilitate ease of use with even the most complicated devices.

As connected devices become more commonplace, the role of an IoT engineer can prove vital to product design & development companies. These innovations not only promise convenience to the average consumer, but practical solutions to businesses and organizations. A connected device designer can contribute to quality of life by creating quality interfaces that allow both expert users and regular people to access the newest technology.

Launching a Medical Startup? Getting Help for Your Product Growth and Design

Working on a startup business of any kind can hold several daunting challenges, including the need for proper funding and expertise to get things rolling. There are likely to be some bumps along the road. When it comes to medical startups, the need for expertise on your team is much greater. Many of the medical devices in development today are taking advantage of sensor technology, cloud-based data communications and application development. So one of the major obstacles to overcome is a decision on whom should be doing the design and development of your product. It is usually a wise choice to consider hiring a professional that are experienced in launching successful medical devices in recent years for the design and development phases.

Tasks to Complete Before Outsourcing:

There are numerous factors one should fine-tune before outsourcing product development:

1. Do your research. If you are an entrepreneur that is partnered with a Chief Medical Officer, together it’s important to understand the processes involved in the advancement and protection of your technology. Such as patents, non-disclosure agreements, and a short list of potential product design partners.

2. Review the product for proper qualifications. Investigate if there is a legitimate need for your product and see if other products currently on the market provide the same solution as your concept. Is the tech available or is there a need for technology development?

3. Know the terms of agreement. Begin interviewing potential design partners and get all the details of ownership and other rights regarding your product and its design organized. Be sure you’re comfortable with these terms before entering into any partnership.

4. Define your objectives.Presenting refined and distinct goals for your product and business venture is likely to be an imperative step in this process.

Benefits of Outsourcing Product Development

One big concern startup owners have is control and ownership of technology, designs and intellectual property. We recommend not signing over your rights and developing a win - win scenario linked to a successful launch. There can be some clear advantages to involving a professional design firm and / or a Chief Medical Officer, as they often have some experience and insights that you may not have. Although the concept or idea may be unique to you, it is wise to know your limitations and accept the expertise of others once your common goals are aligned.Here are some of the most apparent benefits to contracting the Product Development help you need.

• Save costs in the long and short term
• Rapidly apply new technologies
• You can stay focused on your core business
• Mitigate risk
• Shorter time-to-market
• More efficient development

Working with an outsourcing partner can have its challenges, and the keyword to focus on here is “partner”. It’s important to remember that when you hire a medical device development firm, the company you work with now shares interest in the success of your startup’s endeavors. This is the top reason why getting a professional engineering design services on board is so beneficial.

While you are focused on core business initiatives, legal aspects, funding and product marketing, the medical product design experts are focused on mechanical engineering, technology development, functionality and testing phases. Be careful on selecting potential contractors and what they’re offering before signing on for their help.There are some unsavory types that count on startup entrepreneurs being too busy to read the fine print. We will encourage you to read the fine print and get a patent lawyer on your team when you are ready for that.

Definitive Design offers medical design engineering expertise for doctors, medical technicians and forward-thinking healthcare professionals with an idea that is unique and solves healthcare problems. We encourage entrepreneurs to leverage our experience and skills in the area of medical devices and wearable healthcare technology.

Making the Jump to Smart Product Design

Across many industries, the market of everyday consumer products is being transformed by the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), both on the customer side via new functionality and on the manufacturer side with new insight into customers’ responses to products. Data - collection, processing and transmitting - is where value is found. Amidst the changing market, product development companies have to learn how to make the most out of what smart products allow, while competitors race to do the same. There are a few fundamental aspects to smart products that designers face when transitioning into smart products and services.

What Smart Products Look Like

The capacity to handle data is at the heart of what makes a product “smart” - smart products communicate. This is a broader definition than what many people will likely think of, though. Customers understand “smart”as wearables or home automation systems, but early models of smart integration typically start with gathering feedback on product use. Smart product designers should become familiar with three major components to these technologies:

• The physical component of the product, already extant but potentially in need of new manufacturing processes;
• The smart component, which gives the product a virtual “presence”, ranging from QR codes to fully embedded interfaces;
• The means of connectivity, wired or wireless, between the product and the manufacturer or customer.

Challenges of Smart Business Models

Making a product smart requires significant changes in development resources and allocation of funds, with some of the key issues being outside the normal domain of a product design engineer. The smart components added to the product are not purely physical but will also include software apps running on the product or alongside it (e.g. a mobile app that connects to a device or readsaIR tag). Connectivity must also be maintained with 24/7 support; a failure of manufacturer-side infrastructure can potentially interrupt or disable customers’ use of the product, especially as subscription-based models become more common within the IoT space.

The Projected Future of the Market

Predicting what the market will look like as smart products proliferate is difficult, but a few points are certain. Existing 20th century models of industry will swiftly need to be revamped or abandoned to account for digital connections. Product development companies will thrive by engaging with customers and establishing ways to gather insights on user needs and expectations so that your smart product designer can implement improvements that can be pushed out during software updates. Experimentation is critical as well, finding ways in which smart connectivity can further enhance user experience and exploring new business models both internally and in the customer-manufacturer relationship. The main takeaway should be this: pay close attention to developments in smart technology and the IoT and be ready to act.

IoT Circuit Board Design Is Hot Right Now

The Internet of Things (IoT) has presented a world where the digital and physical worlds can truly live together. It’s no surprise that more companies are interested in providing connected devices that take advantage of this change in the technology landscape. For startups and manufacturers, this means being on the cutting edge of new technology.

Changes in Printed Circuit Boards

It’s even more crucial to be aware of changes if you outsource your work to an electrical engineer. You want to be sure that you have the newest techniques available and some engineers my be working with yesterday’s technology. PCBs are constantly evolving, becoming smaller and providing more features. Having an idea of what is happening lets you focus on finding the right IoT design engineers for your specific needs.

IoT Design Requirements

When you are embarking on product development for wearable tech devices, you need to be aware of what to put your focus on. There are a few different things to be aware of and we encourage you to prioritize steps with your electrical engineer.

• Security – As more devices become connected to the digital landscape, it’s crucial that security is sufficient to block any threats. It is becoming more common for security through software to be considered insufficient for this purpose. Hardware-based security methods are often a better option. Perhaps a combination hardware with software security options.
• Battery Life – Unlike many other devices, IoT products are constantly communicating with a network. This means that having an extended battery life is a must. Some of the things an electrical engineer for IoT devices can do is to optimize power consumption during design and to analyze the integrity of the power source.
• Flexibility – The majority of applications for IoT are small in size and need to be flexible. This is important due to the size of most devices being designed today. HDI and rigid-flex are two of the ways IoT design engineers can meet your needs on a physical basis.
• High Standards – Industry standards continue to become more restrictive as more consumers delve into the world of IoT devices. Your electrical engineer should be on top of any new standardization and willing to embrace that sort of challenge.

Making Your IoT Devices Work in Harmony

Your electrical engineer for IoT devices should be forward thinking with a complete understanding of the ways IoT design is changing the way people interact with connected devices and cloud based applications. When you contract with an engineer or designer for your new product, consider the above list first. Having trouble finding a IoT design engineer that is forward thinking? Give Definitive Design a call today and perhaps we can help you get started.

Great Resources for Generating New Product Ideas

Did you know that your most lucrative and sustainable resource for designing new products is right in front of you? The key finding new ideas for a new product is listening to your customers, frustrated consumers and patients that use various medical devices to monitor activity. In today’s world, the traditional wisdom that says product development should only be an internal process is moot. Customers and consumers you interact with are more connected and engaged than ever, and people love to share details about what frustrates them most about a particular product. Often the best ideas come from solving common problems.

But how can you use online research communities to generate new ideas? Inviting your customers to be a part of your product development team can be an eye opening experience. Here’s how you can leverage your customers insights to come up with new consumer product design ideas.

Determine What Problem You Should Solve

The first step to any product development project, whether your goal is to design medical devices or a home improvement tool, is to figure out what your customers value or what problem with an existing product they are challenged with. Your customer base can help you identify what opportunities you should capitalize on or what problem you should solve. Before you attempt to come up with an idea, make sure your direction is relevant to what your customers want.

Your goal should be to get your customers to validate the direction your solutionis providing. If your customers encourage you to solve a specific problem, chances are that others may have similar challenges with that product. You can listen to your customers’ ideas by reading online reviews about a product, conducting research surveys in Facebook or a crowdsourcing app, or interviewing some customers.

Generate, Analyze, and Synthesize an Idea

Many people today are connected digitally with like-minded affinity groups.How big is that pool of people that can benefit from the new idea you are considering?Conduct customer research by strategically formulating your questions and sharing them in a controlled way without giving too much information about your idea away. Ask open ended questions like, “How would you like to see this item perform?” and then digest and evaluate the answers you get back. “What If…” questions help you fine tune your concepts.

Our consumer product design company has been able to help clients flesh out new features to existing product lines just by buying lunch for the employees one day and whiteboarding what comes out of the team’s imagination. A customer’s workforce is a treasure trove of new ideas if you know how to tap into their creativity. The patients of a clinical practice are also a great resource on how you may want to improve the design of medical devices that were used by them. That is a harder audience to tap as a group due to HIPPA and privacy laws but consulting with them one on one with a trusted clinician can be very beneficial. Product design consulting requires us to be open minded when seeking new ideas we may wish to bring to market.

Visionaries Need Help To See Products Come To Life

Most inventors are visionaries that have been inspired to create something they believe to be useful. Often the idea stems from a specific encounter where they saw or used a device that did not perform as effectively as the inventor thought it should. Sometimes the inspiration comes to this visionary through a colleague that describes a procedure, information system or tool that failed them.

The world needs great visionaries to help improve our lives but too often the idea stalls when tasked with bringing this vision to life. The field of medicine is filled with great thinkers and visionaries, but these same people tend to be very busy and find it difficult to move an inspiration for the next great wearable medical device along the path of product development.

Medical Device Development Requires More Than Inspiration

Most of the wearable medical devices that entered the marketplace in 2017 have spent several months to several years in the development pipeline. The question is where does the inventor begin? Our recommendation is to seek out the product development firms that have a proven track record of bringing other wearable technologies to market. There are skill sets that will be required along the way that the inventor or visionary just won’t have themselves.

More importantly is the new product development process needed for your device to succeed. For example, it does not make sense to meet with a mobile app development company before you have a physical design in place. Always start with a summary of the functionality you want for your device and share your ideas with a trusted product designer after there is a formal agreement that will protect your rights and ideas.

Mechanical, Electrical & Software Engineers Should Work in Synergy

The physical design and appearance of your device is very important to the end users and the marketability of your product. If a patient must wear the device, it needs to look and feel right. If a clinician will be using the device as a handheld unit, the design must be easy to use and conform to the environment it will be used in.

Once you have nailed down the mechanical design, an electrical engineer can work within the physical limitations of the device to layout how the electrical design. Often there will be sensor technology deployed in wearable medical devices. So the mechanical and electrical designers may need to make some adjustments to structure & materials for the components to function flawlessly together. Both disciplines can be very complex and it is rare that one individual shares these design skills.

Therefore the stakeholders should foster a collaboration and a project management team may be assigned to track progress, keep the client informed and oversee all parts of the medical device development process. Once the physical and electrical design phases are near complete, then we can start working with the software and app development teams.

Prototyping and Testing Helps Dictate Manufacturing Needs

If an entrepreneur was to hire individuals to tackle the above tasks, chances are you may invest months to identify the right players and several more months to get them to a point where they are producing. Outsourcing your engineering design services has become the norm for most visionaries seeking how to get your invention started. For the prototyping and testing phases alone, it makes sense to choose a partner that has access to 3D printing and additive manufacturing technologies. This world of making functional prototypes has moved very fast and is allowing startups get to market much faster although the equipment and materials can be very costly. Testing will allow you to adjust your design and materials as you discover bugs you never anticipated.

Since actual manufacturing is often the most expensive piece of the puzzle, this engineering for manufacturing stage considers material costs, production methods, anticipated run sizes and delivery schedules. A fully functional prototype will also allow you to present your design to venture capitalists and investors. A manufacturer will need you to show them the money before they invest in materials.

As a medical product design firm in Pennsylvania, Definitive Design has seen the shift towards wearable technologies several years ago. We have partnered with Connected Device Group to bring together the skills you will need to all under one roof. A visionary simply can not do all that is required without the help of a solid team of design professionals.

How a Design Process Helps Inventors Succeed

You have an amazing idea for a new product that you know will be a hit, but you are not quite sure how to design it. This is where following a tried and true design process comes in. Following the design process that is common in the product design engineering field can help you to quickly move through the design phases so you can get your product from concept into production and into the hands of buyers faster. Here’s a look at this process.

Create a Design Brief

A design brief is like your blueprint. It explains what your product idea is, including how it is used and how it may look. It can give the new product development company you choose to work with all the information it needs to develop your idea and create the product you have been imagining in your head. It is essential to share every detail you can think of at this stage, so your product comes out closer to what you have envisioned. Any missing information may lead to re-designs and increased costs down the road.

Create the Specifications List

In addition to the brief, you want a list of the specification of the product. This will include three dimensional sizes, materials, potential colors, functionality and even packaging ideas. These details of the product will provide designers a good idea of what this product really should look like and how you anticipate it will be used.

Design the Product

At this point, you and your engineering design firm will begin the actual mechanical design of the product en-route to developing a 3D model or physical prototype of your product. In the hands of a experienced mechanical engineer with the help of the appropriate CAD software, you may start to discover all the intricacies of developing a new product and any physical limitations your original idea may encounter prior to production.Often there will be adjustments to size, materials and functionality done during this phase of development. This is where you will start to see your new product idea comes to life. The first prototype or 3D model is often generated weeks before any testing takes place and it is our experience that you will have to fine tune your design several times along the way. Be patient with the process.

Test the Product

This step is fairly self-explanatory. It involves testing the prototype you have designed to see if it functions as you imagined it would. It allows you to work out any flaws or issues and identify problems that may need fixed long before signing a production agreement with a vendor. Production costs and materials used in the production process need to be re-evaluated during this testing stage. There must be a return on your investment without sacrificing quality. Most buyers are looking for valuable solutions that solve problems rather than just another widget. So it is important your product is viewed as valuable. Consumer testing and focus groups may be part of this testing phase.

Finalize the Design

After testing, you can then work on the final design. Take a hard look at what you discovered during the testing phase and may the necessary adjustments to the final design that will help your product sell at a fair price, be deemed valuable, be sought after by future buyers and have the longevity to withstand future competition. This is going to be the messaging you present when trying to sell your product to investors or end users.

3D Printing a Final Prototype and Test Again

3D printing and additive manufacturing has come a very long way by 2018. Many of the machines being used for 3D printing today can be used to actually manufacture products on demand using synthetic materials that resemble all types of metals, plastics, stone and other mass produced structural products.

We recommend to many clients that have tapped us as their invention designer in PA to consider additive manufacturing when appropriate for the final prototype. This design process above leverages the best practices of product design engineering that a new product development company must follow when they are involved in the early design stages.

IoT Design Take Mobile Apps To A New Level

Smart technology takes home appliances to a whole new level. Smart products that rely on mobile apps for control are changing how consumers interact with products. Appliances that use smart technology have to be concerned about mobile application issues as well as a product’s design. Consumers judge connected appliances that are part of the Internet of Things (IoT) by the quality of their mobile apps, not only by how well the product works. Here are some guidelines for IoT design for manufacturers:

Consider the Person Using the Product

Although you may consider the product’s hardware the center of gravity for use, the consumer looks at the mobile app as the product. The app has to be a focal point of design through the design process. You can’t design the mobile app as an afterthought. Instead, the IoT product design has to integrate user experience of the mobile app as part of the integrated, holistic design throughout the entire process.

Savvy consumers expect a lot out of their mobile apps. Smart product applications have to be easy to install, navigate and update. The aesthetics of the app must give the user a great experience, which means that as a manufacturer, you can’t cut corners on app development.

Investing in the Future

Today’s smart products will continue to add capabilities as the technology becomes available. When you code software for IoT apps, your company will need to anticipate functionality updates that consumers may demand in the future. It might be cheaper to use hybrid codes when developing the program, but custom, native coding may make your app design more flexible and easier to update when your developers are responsible for the coding.

Mobile App Testing

IoT apps must be tested for quality, simplicity, functionality and UX at several stages of the development process. There is a complex interplay between the device, the software, cloud applications and more. As a manufacture, you need to include in your project management several layers of testing. Many manufacturers underestimate the time testing phases takes and the time required for corrections to be completed. It is better to iron out as many design flaws as possible early in the development process

Create Minimum Viability for Data

Many manufacturers want to create the biggest and best mobile app experience, packing in as many new and exciting features that they can into the app. With IoT products, it’s better to aim basic product functionality primarily for the first release. Get to market quickly with the primary features, then collect data based on actual customer usage for future updates.

Although your product might be your “baby,” you can benefit from the expertise of an industrial design firm in PA to be onboard before you start doing any prototypes or application testing. A creative new product design engineer with some skills in IoT design for manufacturers and design for medical products can be invaluable in taking your smart appliance idea to the next level and make it work for consumers.

How IoT Devices Are Driving Manufacturers to Reinvent

Smart manufacturing can entail many different things combined into one. At the end of the day, companies need to develop devices and machines that allow them to implement new technologies that connect to the internet of things, share data with private servers and analyze this data for improved performance. This data capture and analysis allows businesses to grow and develop more effectively without having to halt production. For an industrial design firm, this tasks design engineers to develop new devices that leverage the Internet of Things for industrial machinery.

Companies often task an engineer to assist with developing new sensors and devices for manufacturing mechanisms. When choosing an engineer, he/she should be familiar with smart manufacturing.

Business Owners Are Recognizing the Importance of Data

The biggest advantage in which IoT devices help greatly is with the collection of data as a usable asset. Many different types of devices can be used to monitor manufacturing equipment, and as a business owner, you can use that data to improve various processes. IoT capabilities are now embedded in with manufacturing equipment, material handling equipment and robotics that are used everywhere today. Naturally, the executive team needs to know how to use this data in an advantageous manner. A designer of smart manufacturing equipment can work with business owners to customize solutions that work best for an organization.

This data can be used to improve processes, help develop solutions for workforce challenges, utilize production forecasting more effectively and even develop valuation reports for potential investors. The data serves as a diagnostic tool to determine where weak points are located. Automation that incorporated Big Data is a must have for companies to service in today’s economy and can show you where your company is heading in the near future.

Manufacturers Are More Aware of the Importance of Employees

Automation does not always lead to a replacement of jobs, just different skills required to do these jobs.Today companies are hiring IoT design engineers that specialize in manufacturing to build customized solutions. Equipment operators are tasked with programming equipment and work harmoniously with CAD/CAM technicians. Data analysis tools are part of the arsenal, but professionals need to make sense of the data and communicate information effectively with management. This this blending of IoT technology, manufacturing equipment and smart people are now part of the company culture today.

A smart manufacturing designer at an industrial design firm has become part of the fabric of many new product development companies. IoT devices are here to stay, so for a business to remain competitive and abreast of the competition, employers need to keep up. Whether your goal is to enhance efficiency, reduce expenses or increase sales, you are bound to benefit from the perks of smart manufacturing.

Industrial Design Leverages Emerging Technologies

Small businesses are often full of bright ideas. Still, even when individuals at a small company develop a brilliant product idea, they frequently lack the knowledge, experience, and tools to handle the mechanical and electrical design to see that idea through to reality. Industrial design firms give smaller organizations access to the engineers they need to turn their product idea into a prototype and eventually into production.

Medical Device Design

As baby boomers age, many small businesses are looking for market share in the geriatric healthcare field. Getting a device from idea to the shelf generally requires hours of engineering development and testing. Small business owners generally don’t have access to the time or equipment to design, test, and build devices. Fortunately, by outsourcing these tasks to industrial design firms, small organizations are able to advance ideas to production.

Wearable Technology Development

Like medical devices, wearable technology is everywhere today. Of course, creating top-notch, wearable devices requires marrying mechanical and electrical design. Relying on the expertise and technological abilities of contract engineers, small business owners take advantage of opportunities before they disappear. With the right wearable technology designer on board, organizations of any size can compete in the crowded wearable device marketplace.

Protecting Proprietary Information

No small business owner wants to develop a winning idea only to have it stolen during the development stage. The best industrial design firms in Philadelphia not only rely on top talent and state of the art equipment, they are committed to protecting proprietary information. For entrepreneurs who have trade secrets, blueprints, and other confidential data, executing a privacy and non-disclosure agreement before contracting for device development is a good idea.

Planning for Growth

As the marketplace turns increasingly digital, small business owners must plan for growth. Getting a head start on medical device development and production can be difficult without access to the necessary equipment required to scale production as demand grows. By creating a business plan and relying on third-party design firms, small business leaders get ahead.

In the fast-paced market of medical equipment, wearable technology, and other modern devices, entrepreneurs must move quickly to develop products and reach customers. When you contract with a product development company in Philadelphia, small business owners don’t have to feel left out of the modern marketplace. Instead, they rely on the expertise, personnel, and equipment at a reliable industrial design firms to get the job done. With some effort to protect proprietary information and a plan for future growth, small business owners expand their business offerings when they rely on third-party wearable technology designers to turn their ideas into prototypes that drive sales.

Designers Bolster Healthcare Advancements

The popularity of healthcare wearables may continue to grow as both consumers and medical practitioners embrace these emerging technologies and the benefits of monitoring health factors in real time. To serve this market, it can be important for the inventor to consult with a wearable device designer to carefully consider strategies for launching new devices that function effectively, connect wirelessly with data receptors, leverage that information via in app analytics and display the data efficiently.

Anticipate Challenges Early

Having been involved in comparable product launches, product design firms may be able to avoid delays caused by reworking product features by anticipating challenges early in the process. Regulatory hurdles may be addressed during the design and prototyping phases. Potential supply chain interruptions may be circumvented so manufacturing expectations can be met. Early marketing studies may reveal unexpected sales channels. Tests can be conducted to validate manufacturing feasibility may expose problems that can be prevented.

Improve Market Appeal

Consumers are more likely to wear a device consistently when it is easy to use and is aesthetically pleasing. Having worked on other products, a wearable technology designer may be able to suggest features that make your wearable medical device more likely to be adopted by consumers. A viable concept, combined with thorough planning and the potential for strong sales, may also drive early investment in the product.

Access Expertise

Start-ups need an invention help company engineer the initial concept and may be able to provide access to the expertise needed to turn the idea into reality. Design firms often have logistics specialists to help coordinate manufacturing and distribution. Artists and illustrators are often needed to enhance the invention’s design to emphasize the product value while making it visually pleasing to the user. Information security experts may address data privacy concerns and how non-public personal and medical information will be kept secure.

Ensure Great Product Design

Emphasizing great product design can make healthcare wearables more successful once it reaches the consumer marketplace. Product design engineering specialists may find creative ways to combine functionality with design elements that make using the device intuitive for the health worker and the patient. They may stay away from the types of trendy features that could overwhelm the product’s intended usefulness.

Launch Health-Focused Technology

Health-focused technology may continue to evolve as healthcare organizations and product design engineering firms find new ways for technology to give doctors and patients better information. Ultimately the goal is to make better diagnoses and decisions, as well as change a patient’s daily behavior for healthier results. A wearable device designer can be critical for helping to get these important medical technology advancements from concept and into the hands of users to help improve health and save lives.

3D Printing Helps Transform How Designers Develop New Products

When you hear the word “invention,” what do you think of? Do you envision a solitary genius working in a shabby laboratory? Perhaps you imagine a pristine white laboratory filled with collage aged engineers testing out their designs in a highly controlled environment. The latest and greatest gizmo, gadget or technological advancement can happen in a number of different ways.

Start-up companies are often formed by a visionary with a grand idea that needs some help turning his/her vision into a workable prototype. Prototyping not too long ago required countless engineering hours at the drawing board, before a CAD technician could build a 3D CAD model electronically and then prototyping could take weeks or even months depending upon the complexity of your model. The time to market today has been dramatically reduced with the increased availability and speed of 3D printers. One of the most intriguing aspects of 3D printing technology is the ability for inventors to create functional prototypes rather inexpensively. Let’s take a look at the ways industrial designers and inventors are using 3D printing to create samples and trial products.

Visual Models

Full-color 3D printing, combined with binder jetting, material jetting and special printing paper, can render a vibrant result that is more than an image. This technology, sometimes referred to as rapid prototyping, makes multi-dimensional models that help designers fix flaws and validate designs to come up with a better end product, all on flat paper.

A company called 3D Systems has been developing the SLA technology which builds product models from CAD design files. The process uses a UV laser to trace cross sections across a vat of liquid polymer, hardening a thin layer of the material for each pass working its way from one cross section at a time.Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is being developed by Stratasys uses a temperature controlled head to extrude and deposit thermoplastic material in cross sections until the complete model is formed. Both of these processes have become standards in the 3D printing technologies used in lower cost systems that are helping inventors engineer their visual models

This multidimensional technology is evolving to meet the needs of designers in many industries, from manufacturers of high-end mobile phone cases to medical applications such as customized orthopedic devices.

Testing Function with Prototypes

Inventors and designers test the functionality of complex designs with trial products rendered through 3D printing technology. These prototypes simulate various materials that offer manufacturers a true look at how the end products will function. Often, businesses need working samples quickly, and this technology is designed to rapidly produce accurate models.

Building Better Tools

During production, as advanced designs move from the conceptual to the manufacturing phase, new 3D printing equipment. For metal parts for example, direct metal deposition (DMD) is a process that uses CNC lasers to fuse layers of metal powder providing often one off finished metal parts made of aluminum or even H13 tool steel.These completely functional prototypes can now be assembled into final components and tested properly for durability.

Invention helps companies in Pennsylvania like Definitive Design provide entrepreneurs and visionaries do much of the engineering, CAD designing and prototyping services for start-up companies. The future is 3D printing services is bright as new technologies are leveraged to make more manufacturing ready prototypes. Most inventors don’t know much about product design engineering but understand that visual models and functional prototypes are very important to the design process, especially if they are seeking investments and seed money.

Some Factors That Encourage Consumer Buying Behaviors

Have you ever wondered why people buy the things they do? What makes certain brands and products so popular that they dominate the marketplace from the very start and others miss the mark on grabbing the attention of consumers? As it turns out, there are many elements that work together to help encourage purchases, even if you don’t realize it’s happening. Here are just three of those factors.

Convenience

Companies that develop products before bringing them to the market work very hard to identify trends in consumer buying behavior. If they can spot what is hot for a particular niche of buyers and adjust aspects of the product they are designing accordingly, the likelihood goes up that people will decide they can’t do without that new product design. However, there are some needs people have that seem constant and not dependent on trends.

One of them is the need to buy things that make life more convenient. We live in a society where people feel starved for time. They buy their medicine from drive-through pharmacies so they don’t have to get out of their vehicles and love ready-made meals that are fit for eating after being heated in a microwave for less than 10 minutes.

Seasonality

Inventors and product marketers also look at seasonal cycles when figuring out what some people desire and how to craft the messaging in a way that fuels product sales. The best time to introduce a new sunscreen to the market for example is just as the weather starts to get warmer and spring fever just starts to take over. On the other hand, a winter jacket designer might work hard so his or her product is ready for selling as the temperatures begin to drop in September, long before winter’s chill sets in at full intensity.

Mood

The way people feel can also compel them to buy things. Think about the last time you had a shopping spree.There’s a good chance you were in an upbeat mood while buying things. The reality that people’s moods motivate them to buy things is a major reason why marketing campaigns are often filled with:

• Cheerful colors
• Intriguing ideas
• Smiling faces

Additionally, retail stores often play upbeat music or showcase promotions that get people in the mood to buy more than what brought them to the store originally. Sometimes, similar tactics are used to lure people into restaurants, entertainment venues and shopping malls.

These concepts are what keep product development companies and industrial design firms in Philadelphia busy designing new products. Before bringing products to the market, it is wise to consult with a professional who knows how to get your invention started. The best help for inventors is to hire a design engineer who is eager to take your ideas to a new level based upon the market trends.